GETTING TO THE CONCERT
Limited parking is available at the church. Street parking is also available nearby.
The performance is held at the hall behind the church.
We encourage our audience to wear a face covering
Hear the unique sounds of mandolins
and guitars with flute and recorder!
Performing pieces featuring Helen Skelton
on flute and recorder including
Albrechtsbrger's Concertino in D
Directed by our conductor Vlad Bourceanu
Sunday 19th November
7:30pm - 9:30pm
St Stephens Church Hall
1 Watling Street AL1 2PT
£12 / £10 pre-booked
Proceeds go towards Refugee Tales
Email phoenixmandos@gmail.com
to pre book your tickets
before they sell out!
Download programme | flyer
Limited parking is available at the church. Street parking is also available nearby.
The performance is held at the hall behind the church.
We encourage our audience to wear a face covering
A very windy day with pegs not strong enough to hold our music but a fun day out and well received! Great sound with our new recorder/flute player Helen Skelton!
Playing again to a full house, meaning more money raised for Rennie Grove Hospice Care! Our performances are going from strength with our inspirational conductor Vlad Bourceanu. Some feedback from the audience - "I just wanted to say how much my wife and I enjoyed your concert (as did the rest of the audience judging by their ovation!!)", "We thoroughly enjoyed your Concert at St. Peter's". Be sure to look out for us again next year!
Playing to a full house reflecting just how many lives Frank had touched through his work! Raising over £350 for Sue Ryder who was highly appreciative of the amount. Huge thanks to the Kerntiff family, who gave us permission to honor Frank and perform his arranged music as well as helping with the organisation and running of the concert. Was very poignant hearing the thank yous from the Kerntiff family at the end of the concert. First debut of our new conductor Vlad Bourceanu who has helped bring our playing to another level. Great feedback especially for our more complex and thought provoking pieces.
We performed to one of the largest audiences of the season with over 100 attendees! Thanks again to Cristian Sandrin who conducted the performance. Many of the audience stopped afterwards to say how delighted they were to have discovered the sound of mandolins and how well we played. Lots of money raised for Rennie Grove Hospice definately looking forward to performing again in another season!
We are a voluntary community group comprised of plucked string instruments mandolins, mandolas, guitars and bass based in St. Albans.
Our group is a result of the merging of the last two remaining mandolin groups north of London, Hatfield Banjo Mandolin Guitar Group (circa 1970s) and Watford Plectra Orchestra (circa 1930s)
We aim to keep the tradition of music for plucked strings alive north of London by encouraging new players to the instruments and encouraging involvement in our concerts
We have a wide range of repetoire from tango, to waltzes, baroque, to folk. We welcome any mandolin and guitar players of any level. Interested? Contact us at phoenixmandos@gmail.com for further details.
An honours graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, London, our conductor Vlad Bourceanu has taken Masterclasses and lessons with Erich Gruenberg, Ruggiero Ricci, Maurice Hasson, Jean Harvey and many others. He has also played, in orchestras, under the batons of Bernard Haitink KBE, Sir Colin Davis, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Edward Gardner - and has led orchestras under Kurt Masur and Ilan Volkov, amongst many others.
He is also a conductor and music critic, having been Assistant Conductor at Opera Holland Park for a production of "La Traviata", with Anne-Sophie Duprels in the title role.
Check us out in the news! Hope this will be the first of many!
If you have missed our radio interview in Dereck Staines Saturday Music Show you can download the full interview below.
Thanks to Dereck Staines and Radio Verulam for playing our music and helping us spread the word on our October 3rd concert!
Here is a sample of our latest recordings taken during practice and in concert! Like what you hear and want join in the fun? Contact us at phoenixmandos@gmail.com for further details.
LUNCHTIME CONCERT ST PETERS 2023
George Gershwin I Got Rhythm Arr Tomaso Gabucci
Jose Pincos Rosita de Cuba
Eileen Pakenham Reverie
Nicola Piovani La Vita è Bella Arr Tomaso Gabucci
CONCERT FOR FRANK (1955-2022)
Primo Quaia Arr Stuart McGowan Mosella
Trad Arr Frank Kerntiff Down by the Sally Gardens
We recommend these teachers to get started on the mandolin or guitar in St Albans.
After a few lessons, contact us at phoenixmandos@gmail.com to join us and put in pratice your knowledge and technique.
Nigel Woodhouse has many years experience as a professional musician and he has played in a diverse range of ensembles, both small and large. Unusually for his chosen instruments, (guitar, mandolin and tenor banjo) much of his work has been in various orchestral settings. Nigel has taken part in many concerts with all of the UK's leading orchestras, including numerous appearances at the BBC Proms, as well as recordings and international tours. He has played many onstage parts in the worlds of opera, ballet and theatre, and he is regularly invited to play at The Royal Opera House Covent Garden and English National Opera. In recent years he has been invited to play with the Bergen Philharmonic, as well as touring with the Royal Ballet, playing shows in Shanghai, Washington, Chicago, Tokyo and Yokohama.